Before its reissue by the specialists at Ace Records, Lonnie Mack's masterwork, The Wham of That Memphis Man!, from 1964, was originally released on a label called Fraternity. That fits: it's the kind of record that would have been a natural frat-party soundtrack back before the '60s bloomed in full. It's bullish and brash and high-spirited, and much of it is instrumental, as it should have been: Mack is a guitarist first and foremost, and every time he steps up to play it's a joyous experience. That's true even when the song is as low-down as can be, which is fairly often. Among other things, Wham is a pop blues album, with Mack singing the desolate likes of “I'll Keep You Happy” and the howling “Why” as assuredly as his six-string rips up the album's quasi-title tracks, the twangy charger “Wham!” and the version of Chuck Berry's “Memphis” that made Mack a star. (In turn, it also made Berry's song, which hadn't done that well, more famous.) The Wham of That Memphis Man! presents Lonnie Mack as an offhand virtuoso, making hay with the blues and rocking up country grooves and making everything sound absolutely at home… read more »